Existence of sound
“If a tree falls in a forest and there’s no one around to hear it, does it make a sound?”
According to many scholars, they perceive the question as depended to an individual. Meaning it all depends on once of sound. There are two ways of looking at this scenario. It can be looked as the sound being disturbance of fluid particles, here being air, then the sound with or without a person around it will be present. But, if the sound is translated as the perception, we have as the sound is the voice we hereafter the brain interprets the vibrations then if there is no one in the area there will be no sound.
Sound exists even when there is no person to hear it. Though in a different form, mostly in waves called a sound wave. The only missing condition being a membrane such as that of the ear or microphone which can vibrate to receive the vibration. In human beings, once the vibration is received in the eardrums, they are then translated by the brain to allow humans to understand. Assuming the tree falls and there is no human being, but there is a squirrel or a bird around to hear the sound they may hear although it may not be the same as a human translation, there will be sound. Ass people are aware that the disturbance of particles causes sound waves. A falling tree will always cause air disturbance. The branches when they struck through the air they cause the air particles to be disturbed hence causing vibration. In addition, the tree when it hits the ground also vibrates, causing the air around it to move to vibrate. Although this is true, sound can still not be heard until the vibrations are translated into sound by the human brain.
Another question that may be generated from the same could be. Does it make noise when no one is around? The answer here then will be straight as no. Since noise is uncomfortable sound in the environment that when human hear it irritates. However, since there is no one to hear then no one is irritated, then there is no noise when a tree falls in the absence of a being to hear. In the modern world, there is technological equipment other than human beings that can be able to measure sound, both its volume and intensity in terms of pitch. With such types of equipment, it can be proven that sound waves are always produced; it is just that they need a device to translate it into a sound that can be heard. From the definition, it is, therefore, fully independent to an individual to determine whether there will be sound in the forest if a tree falls in the absence of a person or there still be sound. In such scenarios, there are no right or wrong answer even though according to my view, the sound will be present, but in waves form and animals around may translate in their brain capacity.
In contrast, John Locke’s theory states that no one can know since the fact that the question states there will be no person around to hear then it only means that there is no one who has experienced such a scenario. To some extent, this theory seems to make sense. But still, the question remains what about the birds and any other animal around. Do they here sound? If yes, will they hear the sound? Still, the question arises; animals cannot talk so how do we know precisely that the animals heard the sound? Once these questions can have a precise answer, then maybe conclusions can be drawn whether there will be sound. For example, even in nature, humans only tend to assume that the unseen world functions the same way as the seen world.
Nevertheless, is it true? For instance, in a scenario where you have just visited your friend, and you found them healthy and happy. You leave and go your way two hours later they take food poisoning. Unless they tell you, about the poisoning, and that they are not okay and they have a stomachache, you will still presume that they are okay. Meaning that we assume what we do not see is exactly as we saw or imagine them to be based on what we see. It is human senses that makes us make conclusions to matters, but if we have not experienced, then there is no enough data to make conclusions.
From a different angle, it is also right to say that the tree does not make any sound since there is no enough data to prove otherwise. Sound is what our minds tell us, and since the tree, falling is happening in the absence of a person, then it will be correct to say no sound, as there will be no mind to tell the presence of sound. Imagine if plucking a leaf from a tree is painful to a tree. What if it is not? However, there is no way to find out since there is no human sense to feel what the tree feel if it has felt even. Even if we study the plant’s nervous system, how will we tell that the nervous-signal given is to show pain? Unless they can find a way to tell us. Since they have no way, of doing that we assume they do not feel pain and we, therefore, pluck the leaf without any consideration.
Making test experiments to make sound decisions may be enough as, without them, there will be no way to make any decision at all. Therefore, doing tests is the only available method that will enable one to acquire an answer. The experiment could be done using technological devices such as the sound detectors which produce not only the audio output but also, the analogue amplitudes of the sound, and the binary indicators of the presence of sound. By using sound detectors, then it can be proven if there is the presence of sound or not. For an individual that has proven the aspect of the subject matter, outweighs a single belief of an individual that has not proven.
In conclusion, the definition that an individual has on what sound is the primary determinant to prove whether there will be sound or not. The falling tree will give a sound if the definition of sound is the waves that can be translated into hearable sound. However, if the definition is the sound we are have already translated by the mind, then when there is no person in the forest when the tree falls, there will be no sound. Nevertheless, I believe that the sound will be present no matter the form it will be in whether in the waveform or the actual sound.